Page 67 of Snapdragons
That felt a little unfair, but fortunately, Nicolette was in their group and knew the extent to which Henri was comfortable with his situation being known. “Henri’s course of study at Cambridge was poetry,” she told Penelope. “It seems, after so many years, he still remembers some of what he studied.”
“Ah.” Penelope nodded, then stood and, in a dramatic posture, pointed at the other team. She declared in thunderous tones, “Unfair!”
That sent uproarious laughter through the room once more.
In the midst of it, Lucas leaned closer to Niles and said, “I wish Julia were here. She and your Penelope would be instant friends and mischief makers.”
“She’s notmyPenelope,” Niles insisted.
“Then, you, my friend, are not paying enough attention.”
“To her or to myself?”
“To either one.”
Penelope sat once more, grinning broadly and looking as though she couldn’t have been happier with life. “This had best be the greatest poem ever composed on the topic of Cornish cheese,” she warned them all in laughing tones. “I believe I have just staked all our reputations on it.”
“Cornwall does produce some very delicious cheese,” Niles said. “But I cannot say we are particularly famous for it.”
“So, a poem about Cornwall’s lack of famous cheeses?” Lucas suggested.
Nicolette nodded solemnly. “Such a tragic thingmustbe immortalized in verse.”
After the allotted time had expired, the team elected Niles to be the one to share their offering, he being so closely connected to the subject matter.
Listen friends to my tale of woe,
When down to the southern coast I go,
Through towns and villages alike,
I seek in Cornwall a tempting delight.
But no lesson have I ever learned better:
I must go to Somerset when searching for Cheddar.
He took a sweeping bow amid the cheers and laughter of the group. This game Digby had invented would, perhaps, not actually prove helpful in Henri’s professional endeavors, but it was proving an absolutely delightful way to pass an evening.
“With our final offering of the night...” Digby motioned to Aldric, which was almost as much of a shock as Niles being the representative of his team. Aldric was many things, but he was not a performer.
In vain I have tried to dismantle
My love for Pont l’Eveque and Cantal,
Gloucester and Cheddar, Wensleydale and Gruyère.
Though many things try, none can compare.
So let us embrace and pay true homage
To the joy that we glean from delicious le fromage.
As the room applauded, Penelope leaned closer to Niles. “Am I right in remembering thatfromageis French for ‘cheese’?”
He nodded, and her attention returned to the group. How easily and naturally she turned to him with questions and conversation. Niles was very unaccustomed to that.
Try as they might, a winner for the evening could not be decided on. The Gents could be competitive when they chose to be, but most of the time, they played games purely for the enjoyment of it. That night proved the same. They shrugged at their lack of a victor and declared the evening an unmitigated success.
